By Zack James is having himself a helluva 2026. His project Dari Bay, a boundless, twinkling, fuzzy exploration of rock music writ large, released SURPRISE WISH via Double Double Whammy this summer, and his band Robber Robber released TWO WHEELS MOVE THE SOUL via Fire Talk, one of the year’s more thrilling, blown-out art rock records. Both albums veer into exciting territory but are working on very different musical levels—the former scratching a specific ‘90s noise rock itch, the latter a dizzying, sometimes nearly mechanical pop-rock groove.
On the back of catching Dari Bay open a string of dates for Spirit of the Beehive in New England, I chat with James about famous singing drummers, music evolving to become a full-time job rather than a hobby, and curbing sonic expectations with SURPRISE WISH.
I love the production on SURPRISE WISH—the fuzzy, low-end guitar tones and the crispness of the drums just make for a satisfying headphone listen. It recalls, like, the Lilys or Bedhead by way of THE BLUE ALBUM. You’ve indicated that releasing “The Joke” as the first single was an intentional warning shot that you were beginning to zig where people might expect you to zag. Now that the album has been out for a bit, how do you feel this refined sound has played with fans?
Zack James: Thank you! I think both Dari Bay albums had lead singles that hinted at a more drastic switch-up then what was actually the case on the album. I don’t really try to mislead people or be a contrarian and I don’t assume people are too attached to the way Dari Bay sounds. It’s more about trying to open doors and create more possibilities. Right now I’m cool with the amount of zigzagging we’ve done to get here.
Has that approach informed how you will continue to try and zig with future Dari Bay projects?
ZJ: I like the idea that someone might be curious what we’ll sound like next time. But we’d never zig just for the sake of zigging.
In the bio for SURPRISE WISH, you’re quoted as saying, “I cared less about aesthetics and more about primal feelings.” An interesting parallel I hear in both projects you’ve released this year is a dynamic shift away from a lot of the sounds, or perhaps aesthetics, that are currently making the Burlington scene (and many of your collaborators) very popular—both Dari Bay’s last album and (obviously, to a lesser extent) Robber Robber’s WILD GUESS I think have more quote-unquote “countrygaze” and modern indie rock songwriting components at their cores. These two new albums shift away from that into a broader, bolder, more immediately intense rock sound. What feelings, specifically, were you honing in on with these albums, and is it projecting to assume that there’s probably a spiritual connectedness to those feelings across both albums, even if they’re quite different projects?
ZJ: They are connected for sure. We were making both of them at the same time, SURPRISE WISH maybe a little earlier in the timeline. I think across both SURPRISE WISH and TWO WHEELS we were trying to feel joy and excitement. Even in dark, scary parts of the records we’re still trying to laugh and smile. And those feelings may come from moments in the songwriting or the production, but in order to arrive there, I think we’ve gotta be making music that engages our curiosities rather than plays into expectations.
This idea of coming out the other side of the scary parts to laugh and smile and subvert expectations reminds me of “Bet On the Feeling,” which lyrically to me is kind of the thesis of the record.
ZJ: That’s cool, I’d say that’s probably true. I like how music can trick our emotions. We try to let ourselves be guided by instincts/feelings/vibes whenever we can.
Looking at your current CV, is it fair to assume you’re just a full-time musician these days?
ZJ: Yeah, music is the current gig. I love music. It is pretty much all I want to do, so I’m lucky to get to do it so much.
So with that said, when you talk about engaging in your curiosities, do you find that easier to do with music as a full-time job? Or, especially given SURPRISE WISH was made as you were literally wrapping up college, was there at some point something to having to balance school or work and have music be something you focused on outside of the “real world”? I feel like creative people sometimes go both ways about that.
ZJ: It’s nice being able to make music without an underlying feeling that there is something more important that I should be doing right now instead. A lot of the time at school or work, I’d just think about music the whole time, which was fine. But then when I was doing music stuff I’d be thinking about school or work. When I was making SURPRISE WISH, I had to be really deliberate with my time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I think that sort of workflow can be good for me and other artists. It definitely affects the outcome, though, when you’re planning a lot of stuff out in advance.
Talk to me about being a singing drummer in a project? When I saw you in Portland, ME a few weeks back and threw a portion of your set on my IG, multiple people hit me up to say they thought you had to be one of the best singing drummers in indie rock right now, and I agree.
ZJ: Damn, thank you. It’s fun and I’m still kinda trying to figure it out after about a year of doing it. So far I like it more than being the guitarist. Fronting a band feels awesome when I’m playing an instrument I’m comfortable on. I can relax and live in the moment, and also communicate with my bandmates a lot more easily.
Who, then, are your singing drummer idols?
ZJ: I grew up in a Levon Helm household so that’s my guy—rest in peace. And he was always one of my drumming heroes way before I ever saw myself as a singer.
Yeah, Levon is certainly the most prevalent, I always shout out Grant Hart from Hüsker Dü as a great one. But beyond you, I can’t think of many prominent modern indie rock drummers that sing.
ZJ: My friend Julien Ehrlich is an amazing singing drummer. We did some shows with Whitney earlier this year, and sharing the stage with him made me wanna get my shit together and be a better performer. Actually, the first time we met a couple years ago, he asked me why I didn’t play drums in Dari Bay. I was like, “I don’t know.”
You can check out both of Zack’s recent albums on Bandcamp, including Dari Bay’s SURPRISE WISH and Robber Robber’s TWO WHEELS MOVE THE SOUL. Header photo by Nat Campbell
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